


The Rabbit's Happily Ever After

by FieryLeporine_Monarch55



Category: The Night of the Rabbit (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, I liked this game a lot when I first saw a Let's Play of it, M/M, Now I'm giving it the sequel I want
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-10
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-01 05:08:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23089912
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FieryLeporine_Monarch55/pseuds/FieryLeporine_Monarch55
Summary: Time changes things. Magic changes things. And maybe, a man who once was a boy with a dream can change the outcome of the story.The story of a rabbit who was once a Treewalker.
Relationships: Plato/Anya
Kudos: 8





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> -Jeremiah is 22 years old in this fic
> 
> -The main lore will be fluffed up a bit with some extra stuff from my wonderful box'o'ideas

((I'll get back to writing TAL fics soon but first lemme chase this plotbunny out. Night of the Rabbit is owned by Matthias and Sebastian Kempke, not me))

* * *

A young man stood at the edge of a bay, gazing out onto the waters and sighing forlornly. His hair, a soft chocolate brown that made one think of autumn colors creeping in after the summer months, blew to and fro with the salty breeze.

"What a deep sound. Are you bored or really that miserable?"

The young man frowned, his gaze still out at sea. "I'm neither. I thought I'd be meeting an old friend today, but he's nowhere to be found. I'd know his boat anywhere, but it's anywhere except here."

"Hmm. Meetings sometimes like to go in other ways than what we'd like."

The young man snorted. "You woodsprites always sounded so mysterious when I was a boy. Now, you just sound aggravating."

"Haha~ Jeremiah Hazelnut, you truly are splendid company."

Jeremiah turned his gaze finally, from the sight of stormy dark blue waters to the misshapen creature standing beside him. "How are you even out of the forest and here? Last I remember, you didn't like scurrying around out in the open." He asked, brown eyes narrowed, though not in an unfriendly way.

"Your efforts throughout your life have been bearing life wherever you've been." The woodsprite pointed his attention towards a lively cluster of seaweed floating at the edge of the concrete. It trail from where they stood all the way towards the forest that extended into the ocean. "And I am always curious for your stories, Jerry the Magician~"

The nickname finally got the young man to smile. "Jerry the Magician. Gosh. It's been ages since I've been called that."

"It's your name, after all." The woodsprite's head rattled as he poked at Jeremiah.

Jeremiah didn't wince; as thin and sharp as the sticks making up the woodspite's hand looked, they were as soft as fresh blades of grass. "After all these years, it still brings a tear to my eyes. Thinking about that summer adventure. Ten years ago, it was. But it feels like a lifetime."

"Are you waiting for Spitzweg?"

Jeremiah's smile grew. "The last time I caught his boat, we were in the Baltic. I asked him for a few favors, in exchange for tuning up his boat. Hopefully when I take him back to Mousewood, he'll have what I need for Hoto."

The woodsprite's entire body clattered at the name. "So...You haven't given up on him."

"No I haven't." Ah, there went his smile, back into a frown as he looked back out into the horizon. "He's the one among everyone who deserves a 'good ending' the most. Don't you think so?"

The woodsprite shrugged. "Stories are what I'm concerned with. Having an affect on them isn't what we do-"

"Right, right. 'We're watchers, not doers'." Jeremiah huffed, twiddling his fingers. A green spark jumped from the tips, falling into the seaweed and casing it to grow a huge wet leafy frond up to them.

The woodsprite took hold of the frond and pulled it free, stowing it away. "Ohhh~ The stories this has."

"You might annoy me, but we're still friends after all." The human laughed. "And with the bay clean as it is, there's so much more life here. Did you know there's a bass that leap out over the dam? Mousewood nearly lost all their marbles when it beat up the catfish!"

Rattling, like laughter. "And yet you rescued it and led it back out to where it belonged."

"Of course I did. I'm a Treewalker." Jeremiah stated proudly, jumping at the sound of a shrieking horn.

So did the woodsprite, clattering loudly. " _Jeremiah_! What-"

"I gave him an airhorn." The human grinned as he shot to his feet and started running for the dock. "To let me know where he sees me waiting here for him!"

The sprite groaned as 'shock' drained out of him. "Of course you did."

Jeremiah's boots thudded loudly as he ran across the wood, laughing as he dropped to the dock's edge on his chest and ran his hand through the water, letting a small submarine-like creation with an airhorn affixed to the back drift into his hand. "Spitzweg!"

"Jerry! Ohohoho, this 'airhorn' is delightful, deeeeelightful I say!" The suslik chortled, pushing his pudgy body out of the boat. "I've startled seagull and crow alike away with it!"

Jeremiah lifted Spitzweg to his shoulder, tucking the boat under his arm. It had doubled in size with the 'tune-up' Jeremiah had done, nearly as big as a barrel by now. "Gosh! This is so heavy now! How many maps did you make with those post-it notepads I gave you?!" He exclaimed with a grin.

"I may have used...all of them." The suslik admitted with a sheepish laugh.

Jeremiah laughed wildly as he strolled back to the edge of the bay, the woodsprite already gone. "You'll love hearing everything's that's happened in Mousewood since we last spoke. Anya and Plato finally had tadpoles together!"

"Really! It's about time those two settled with a family." Spitzweg sat comfortably on Jerry's shoulder. "Your hair! It's gotten so long!"

Jeremiah blinked, touching his ponytail fondly as Spitzweg settled against his neck. "Oh yeah. Mr. Moleno doesn't like me getting haircuts. He insists that my hair will hold more magic energy if I let it get really long like his." He smirked and winked at the suslik. "But I think he just wants me to look more like him. Too bad I can't grow a beard."

"Hah!"

The journey to Mousewood, the magical town in the forest, began with Jeremiah arriving at the crossroads that led into the forest, towards his house, and out towards the city. The dreary gray wave he'd once feared would wash over him no longer encroached ominously; the buildings had beautiful bright colors aided by random but pretty spouting trees everywhere, the dump a factory that recycled the trash the city made.

"Of course, having me yell at them and threaten to make their pipes get clogged with stinkweed might've helped." Jeremiah joked as he approached the tree they'd need to go through. "Just kidding. I still can't be that mean to anybody. But when I grew the little bonsai in the office into a huge towering tree right in front of them, the council took me far more seriously."

"Using your magic to clean up the disaster we were certain was our doom. Oh, if the past Treewalkers could see you now, Jerry my boy." Spitzweg sniffed as he wiped his suddenly wet face. "You really are a hero."

Jerry's smile was nervous. "Speaking of the other Treewalkers..."

"Oh! Yes! Of course! I looked high and low and between everything in my path." Spitzweg started digging into the fannypack he now wore; the animals of Mousewood had grown large, living longer than even they had suspected they would. The Woodsprites had confirmed this was a result of Jerry's magic, revitalizing the lifeforce of the First Tree and thus affecting everything in his surroundings.

(Aro Moleno, however, whinged every now and then about becoming a true ghost just to get Jerry off his back.)

Spitzweg came through the portal with Jerry, now of equal size. "I looked through the record book we found and came across this set of spells. I copied them down just for you."

"Hey! It's Jerry! And is that...? Spitzweg!" The guardmice at the gate of town rushed towards them. "Ey! Magician boy! You brought Spitzweg back! Is there anything the great Hazelnut can't do?" The female guard teased as her paws prodded at his middle.

Jeremiah grinned. "Keep Eugene awake?" He pointed his thumb at the guardmouse atop the gate, sound asleep.

His comrade's howls of laughter woke the poor guy right up, Eugene nearly toppling off his post. "Wha-! Hey! Jerry!"

"C'mon Spitzweg, Mousewood's even bigger than before. I've dragged things through to give everyone like the Hedgehog Brothers more to build with." Jeremiah tugged on the suslik's paws.

His excitement was contagious as the guardmice hooted with mirth. "Okay, okay! Haha, you're a firecracker, boy. I'm old." Spitzweg laughed as they went through.

"I also helped clear out the swamped area as well, so there's even more room back there as well." Jeremiah told him as they entered the town spare. The many animals there chorused Jerry's name, waving to him as he led Spitzweg through the crowd.

"Ey Jerry! We finished building that storage building ya wanted!" Called the red clothed hedgehog brother. "Now our food stores'll stay nice and safe."

His blue-clothed twin swatted him in the head. "It's for food AND the waternuts!"

"Ah, like the one you made me?" Spitzweg guessed as the brothers tussled in argument as was normal for them. "An excellent idea."

"Isn't he full of 'em?" A voice croaked nearby, the two turning to see Plato. "And with those great ideas, Jerry, it's been so relieving keeping our young in the bowl you gave us! Anya just sits near the edge to keep an eye on all the tadpoles, and they stay safe and sound!"

Jeremiah chuckled. "Well, since I kept tadpoles as a kid before Mousewood, I know how to care for them pretty well. Is Anya excited for when they lose their tails?"

"Oh absolutely! We're making a contract with the hedgehog brothers to make the cafe even bigger! With our kids helping us out, why, we could serve an entire city!" Plato's throat swelled again with a loud 'ribbit' of excitement. "And when they aren't in the cafe, the mail bikes you helped us make will be zooming all over delivering mail to all of Mousewood!"

Spitzweg chuckled as he and Jerry followed Plato to the cafe.

"Oh, my! Is that a dusty old man in need of a coffee I see?" Anya came rollerblading into view, beaming as she grabbed Spitzweg in a hug. "Jerry told us you'd be coming home. Your place is nice and clean and ready for all your odds and ends from travel."

Spitzweg jumped. "Egads! Jerry, the boat-"

The magician laughed.

"You've already put it back to my home, haven't you?" The suslik shook his fist teasingly at Jerry. "Unloading it will be easier if it's close."

Jerry nodded. "And besides, right now you have to enjoy your welcome back party."

"Ahhhh. Mousewood parties. Oh, I have so many stories to tell everyone!" Spitzweg happily groaned as Anya brought him a mug of coffee for him to guzzle.

"Say Plato, mind giving me a ride?" Jerry asked of his froggy friend.

"For you? Of course not! Let's be on our way so we'll get back in time for the party feast! Anya's gonna make carrot cake after all." Plato ribbited.

"Mmmm. My mom's recipes have been pretty successful here." Jeremiah drooled at the thought. Anya had gone crazy with the recipes he'd made copies of for her, and Mousewood was more than thankful for acorn dumplings, berry pies, carrot and beetcakes, and the special tea Jerry had learned to make himself off the internet. "I hope she'll brew up some apricot tea. Add some honey and that'd be perfect for tonight."

Plato wheeled his bike over. "I'll let her know you've got a craving! You know we adore you, after all. Now off we go!" Jerry jumped onto the back, grinning as Anya zoomed after them.

"PLATO! NO BIKES INDOORS!"

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_'I will never forget you.'_

_Said Jeremiah Hazelnut._

_'And I...I will never forget you...'_

_Came the reply from the shadows at the foot of the Tree._

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	2. Chapter 2

((Aka the obligatory Disney princess song chapter XD;;; Laura Brehm's 'We'll Meet Again' has given me more inspiration for this fic))

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"Hah, it's so good seeing Mousewood again. After being around people, it's nice to be around magic." Jeremiah sighed happily as Plato's bike flew through town, clattering with the frog and the human's weights on it. The townsfolk waved at Jerry and Plato as they zoomed by, Ursula the Owl trying to chase after them with glee - being stopped by her Uncle picking her up by the back of her dress. As he was sitting backwards on the bike's extra seat, Jerry couldn't help laughing at her face of utter disgust as they sped off into the distance from the two.

Plato croaked happily. "I've got a few deliveries to make on the way. Hope ya don't mind taking a few detours."

"Are you kidding? It's fun to detour with you, Plato! You get into all kinds of crazy places!" Jeremiah reminded him, turning around on the bike to sit forward again. "Why, you're the one who found those caves at the edge of the swamp, remember?"

The frog's neck inflated in dramatic fear. "RIIBBPT! Don't remind me! Nearly conked myself into a frog pancake! Scared Anya's wits from her! I never wanna go near that place again!" Jerry's laughter calmed him down, Plato feigning a pout instead. "A TreeWalker with a taste for action. Hmph! You're trouble, mister Hazelnut." He pretended to scold the other; with how much Jerry had become part of the Mousewood life, it truly felt like the human was kin to them all.

"Isn't it fun?" The human grinned as they came to a halt in the town square. He handed a package to the squirrel-girl, Edith, whom had grown quite a bit - as tall as the frog now, she had continued to order fashionable things. And this day was no different, as she eagerly ripped open the bag and revealed a backpack made with a sunflower bud. "Wow! That's pretty nifty!" Plato croaked giddily.

She posed with it, giggling as Jerry pretended he was a cameraman taking a photo. "I love it! They said this backpack is tough enough to carry up to five metal bars. It'll be nice being able to carry things around. I can be just like you and Jerry!" Edith teased the two.

"Careful or we may just have to build you a bike." Jerry joked back.

She sniffed in a haughty but teasing manner. "It better be the prettiest thing then!" And she waved them off as Plato took off once more. Jeremiah inhaled the scents of Mousewood, a soft melody playing from the Hare Family band. Once the youngest leverets had gotten big enough to hold up instruments and twiddle their hard nails against the strings, they'd decided forming a group would be fun. They often liked to play songs before midday, under the shadiest part of Mousewood, and today sounded like they'd come up with a new tune.

Jeremiah found himself humming along, drifting into his memories of that summer. The day he became a TreeWalker. The Marquis de Hoto's spell.

"Suddenly, you're nowhere to be found. I turn around and everything has changed  
Looking for a way to work it out I'm trying to find some peace to navigate."

Plato croaked in surprise as Jeremiah began singing. It wasn't often that the human did so, but his voice was clear and strong as they zipped down the creek towards the Dwarves area.  
  
"The oak tree where I met you  
And the writing on the statue  
I still remember every word you said."

Steinburg the Dwarf greeted them, happy to receive a new spigot for the barrel the Dwarves stored their blue juice in. He saluted them, but ended up sneezing just as Plato pulled away, prompting Jerry to laugh. The poor guy sounded like he was coming down with a cold again, but luckily Anya could whip up the medicine necessary for such a case.

"I'm not a soldier but I'm fighting  
Can you hear me through the silence?  
I won't give up 'cause there will be a day-"

Jeremiah's singing was interrupted as Plato swerved onto a smooth rock, the human clutching his seat and giving the sheepish amphibian a smirk. "-We'll meet again." He resumed with a chuckle as they crossed over the bridge that spanned the trenches between Mousewood.

"Everything we wanted turned to gold." _Turned to gold_ , The wind seemed to echo in tune to his voice, the tall grass swaying around them as Plato hurried to the swamp. "The path we chose, the future on our side. Never thought I'd do this on my own-" _On my own_ , "But now I wield the sword you left behind." Ah no, wait. It was the rocks singing along with Jeremiah, the rock-whisper spell already in effect.

All the magic he'd learned those two days had aided him for all these years, as he restored the nature of the land and gave it the chance to breathe. The whispers of the rocks that had led him to safety and secrets, the magic of growing plants he'd learned from the grumpiest of leprechauns, the trickiness of the kitsune's cunning spell that she'd toyed with Jerry to teach him, and the glimmer of hope he'd learned from the whale who'd breached the icy waters of the Artic for the poor human stuck so far from her home and family and given up. And here in Mousewood it thrummed in the air, syncing in time with his heartbeat.

"The oak tree where I met you, and the writing on the statue, I still remember every word you said." Jerry fondly recalled the excited gleam in his teacher's eyes, how he tried to sprint ahead into the unknown with Jerry at his side. "I'm not a soldier but I'm fighting. Can you hear me through the silence? I won't give up 'cause there will be a day," Jerry's face then hardened as he recalled the mysteries and danger that had caught them by surprise, "-We'll meet again."

"Dark for the sunrise. Clouds for a blue sky." The Great Zaroff. The Marquis' old apprentice, who'd turned to darkness. The battle Jerry had to fight at twelve years old, which had decided the fate of not only Mousewood, but the city around it, his life. "Space for the travelling star...Strong from the inside, you're still my life-line, I feel you wherever you are."

Everything had started from the moment he'd decided to love magic. And his love was so strong and pure, the very vein of magic that ran through Mousewood had seen him as worthy of becoming a hero. And now, he'd set his mind to saving the Marquis de Hoto as well, forever standing in the shadow of the First Tree. He was going to rescue the Marquis too.

"The oak tree where I met you and the writing on the statue. I still remember every word you said. I'm not a soldier but I'm fighting. Can you hear me through the silence? I won't give up 'cause there will be a day."

Plato let out a crazy happy croak as they bounced right off a patch of ice, rounding the corner of the Hedgehog Brothers' place and up to the edge of town where Aro Molena's home lay. Jerry adjusted his parcel from Spitzweg, smiling brightly as he dismounted Plato's bike and waved goodbye for the time being. He strode with intent, no longer a child skulking cautiously as he knocked on the 'door' edge, the tiny crack in the train station's window.

"We'll meet again."

Jeremiah's boots squeaked as he waited for the Magician's invitation.

"We'll meet again."

His giddiness was swelling up like a balloon.

"We'll meet again."

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Aro Molena perked as he heard the singing beginning to echo in Mousewood. His fellow had arrived and was making a show of it as usual. "Ah, you don't change do you? Jerry..." He chuckled softly.

"That sound..."

The Magician of Mousewood turned towards his hidden cupboard. "It is Jeremiah Hazelnut. You remember?" The cupboard door was carefully pulled open, and Aro looked down at the figure inside a bottle. It was polished and clean, despite dust gathering everywhere around it.

"I remember only the boy you sent me to. I have none of the memories you've been prodding me about."

Aro sighed. "Then I will have to dash his hopes again. I know you are connected to him, through that shade of your true self the First Tree sent to help. But you cannot roam freely, the way you are right now." He recalled the sweet image of his red-eyed friend, so happy about Jeremiah's natural magic and eager to teach the boy, unaware of any danger or his true fate.

"You will have to eventually set me free, old friend. The fate of the world will depend on it someday."

The Magician stared pointedly at the figure, knowing that it wasn't his size that cowed the other into silence. "Until that day comes, dear friend. You will remain where it is safe. For you and the world." He began to close the door, but noticed the figure shifting repeatedly.

The figure was moving in time to Jeremiah's singing. Shoulders rising and falling, and a digit tapped the figure's knee.

Aro smirked as he fully shut the door. "Perhaps that day will come sooner than we both believe." He muttered, before clearing his throat and called out. "Come in, dear friend."


End file.
